More Than Words
by Yondaime Namikaze
Summary: It was only natural that two of the most stubborn Vikings on Berk would disagree on some things, but Hiccup would always forgive Astrid easily. However, after yet another argument with his wife, Hiccup tells Astrid that she must find another way to apologize this time. "Words are so easily manipulated. Show me that you're sorry. You're smart, Astrid. You'll figure it out."
1. Grounded! The Fight

**Well…I had some downtime, so I decided to type up a story that I'd started handwriting last year. I know what you're all probably saying. "Why are you starting another HTTYD story when you're already writing, like, four other ones?" Excellent question. The answer is that I didn't have my notes or already-started chapters from the other ones available when I started typing this one. Rest assured that no ongoing HTTYD story will be forgotten about…well, maybe Wheel, but…I'm just kidding!**

**This story is based on the song by Extreme. It's probably not going to be too long. Like "Skies", this one was originally going to be a one-shot. Unlike "Skies", though, I do not have the outline for this one completely thought out just yet, so just be aware of that. That said, please enjoy this new story "More Than Words".**

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><p><span>Chapter 1: Grounded! The Fight<span>

"Hiccup, I'm fine! You don't have to do this!"

"No, Astrid, I do. I've already told you. This discussion is over. You are grounded and Stormfly will understand."

"She most certainly will not! What if I grounded you!? How would Toothless feel?"

"Unlike Stormfly, Toothless cannot fly on his own. Trust me, Stormfly will be just fine by herself for a few months."

Astrid huffed, annoyed by her husband's overprotective nature. "You are impossible!" Without another word, she retreated up the stairs to the bedroom they shared, a room that had once been Hiccup's alone…well, his and Toothless's.

Hiccup could already feel the headache starting. Grasping his pained forehead, he took a seat in the chair that had once been his father's favorite. He remembered how the former Chief had filled the chair completely. Though Hiccup had grown taller, he remained lean and lanky, a bit more muscular now than in his teen years, but not much more. The oversized chair dwarfed the current Chief.

From the corner, a dark shadow shifted. Normally, one might miss the movement, but Hiccup had years of experience and noticed the black shape move to sit by his chair. Toothless had sensed a discomfort in his rider. Looking into his rider's eye, the once-feared Night Fury cooed with worry.

Bringing his hand down to run it across the dragon's black scales, Hiccup answered, "It's nothing, Bud. I'm fine." From the barrel beside the chair, Hiccup produced an iceblock. Placing the block of ice on his forehead, he felt instant relief. "I just don't understand, Toothless," he muttered, but the dragon's advanced senses could hear. "How did my father manage this? Between being Chief and leading a family…Gods, I feel much older than I actually am. Toothless, I am certain that my father was put in this same situation at one time, that he was a new Chief caring for my mother (also a headstrong woman like Astrid), while she was with child, preparing for my birth. Why is it that I can't be as successful as my father? Am I still useless?

888

Upstairs, Astrid lay on her side of the bed she shared with her husband. Husband…still it felt strange to call Hiccup that. "Husband" was a blissful word and, as strange as it was to call Hiccup that, she was glad that she could…even on days such as this one.

Astrid hated fighting with Hiccup. She loved him very much, but they both had stubbornness issues (as was common for the majority of Berk's Vikings) and they often found themselves butting heads with each other. It had been all too common recently and Astrid guessed the baby had something to do with the change in the homely atmosphere.

Automatically, her hands went to her slightly protruding stomach. The village healers who tended to her medical needs had recently told her that she was quite small for being almost halfway through her carriage of the heir. "Apparently," they had joked, "the heir will also be small, just like his or her parents."

As excited as Astrid felt, she was also nervous. Her mother had told her a few months ago that it was common for new mothers to worry excessively while with child but this was different. Astrid's mother had never had the added pressure of carrying Berk's heir. Perhaps this nervousness also had a role to play in heightening her already quick temper.

"He can't ground me! I'm not Snotlout! Who does Hiccup think he is! I don't care if he's Chief or Berk Dragon Academy Leader or Dragon Conqueror or whatever title he wants to use today! He has no right!" she muttered, still seething from their argument.

Sighing, Astrid felt the rising anger start to slip away. "He is right, though," she told herself. "If anything was to happen to the baby, our baby…I wouldn't be able to live knowing that it had been my fault. Still I'm barely even showing and my stomach isn't getting in my way. Besides, it's not like the baby's even…"

Her words were halted as she felt a sensation unlike any she'd ever experienced. Her eyes drifted down. The movement had stopped. Could she have just imagined it? That would be…No! There it was again! More definite and sure this time. "Moving…," she muttered, finishing her prior thought, her hands fluttering down to feel the wonderful movement of new life inside her. "The baby's moving! I have to tell Hiccup!"

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><p><strong>I know…this chapter is super short. I made the mistake of handwriting this chapter so it looked longer than it actually was. Also, I apologize if this story is not as well-written as some of my other stories. This one I started writing last year and I've barely looked at it since.<strong>

**Once again, I have little idea of where this story is going to go and what will happen in it. Trying something new where I don't rigorously plan out every minute detail before posting.**

**That said, I'll see you again when I see you. Hope you enjoyed this first chapter.**

**Posted: September 10, 2014  
><strong>


	2. No Words

**Well…I can honestly say that I was not expecting this story to be so widely read. I hope that you all continue to enjoy the story.**

**Looks like chapters will be pretty short in this story compared to some of my other stories.**

**Review Replies:**

**_faisyah865_: Yes, they most definitely do. We'll be seeing a lot of that in this story.**

**_Hiccupthehic_: Thanks! You won't have to wait too long because here it is!**

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><p><span>Chapter 2: No Words<span>

"Hiccup!"

The shout and pounding sounds of Astrid's running feet down the stairs startled the young Chief from his short and unintentional nap. "Wha-?" As the thin film of sleep lifted, he realized who had called for him and, by that time, she had almost made it to his chair. Jumping from his seat (and startling the already-awakened-and-confused Toothless), he met with his wife before she could reach the chair. "Astrid! Are you okay?" His next question was silent, but he could see in her eyes that she knew he was asking it. Is the baby okay?

"I'm fine, Hiccup," she answered, repeating her words from earlier. Taking his hand, she placed it on her small stomach.

Immediately he felt the fluttering movement of his growing son or daughter. "Whoa!" he breathed out, amazed.

Both Hiccup and Astrid had grown up with no younger siblings, just like most of their friends. This feeling, the feeling of their baby moving inside Astrid was new to them both. It was truly amazing. Their earlier argument was briefly forgotten. Neither Hiccup nor Astrid had the words to describe what they were feeling. It was truly a miracle.

"Hiccup, I…" Astrid began but was quickly cut off by her husband.

"No," he spoke sharply, the hurt from their recent argument still fresh. "I know what you're going to say, , but a simple 'I love you' or 'I'm sorry' won't cut it this time, Astrid."

"And why not?" Astrid asked and Hiccup could hear anger beginning to creep into her words. "Aren't those the words I'm supposed to say after an argument?"

"Words are easy to sugarcoat and manipulate," Hiccup justified. "It's too simple to confess that you didn't mean to say or do something hurtful. Yet, what is there, then, to stop you from doing it again?"

Hiccup knew that Astrid was not impressed with his answer. He could see the anger written right on her red, irritated face.

"Oh? Is that so?"

"Indeed, it is so. Simply saying to me 'I love you, Hiccup. Please forgive me.' is not what I want. Those are not the words I want to hear. It's not that I don't want to hear the great Astrid Hofferson Haddock say them. It's just, as I said, this has happened before where we argue, but each time we apologize with our kind words and move on until the next time we butt heads. I don't want to live that way and words…our pleas for forgiveness just feel like empty promises to me. So, I wondered, what would you say, then, if I took those words away? What would happen then when you couldn't make things new just by saying to me 'I love you'. Do you understand now, Astrid?"

The whole time he had spoken, Hiccup's voice had been flat, devoid of all emotion. Astrid had rarely ever heard Hiccup speak that way. He was definitely serious about this. Still, she was infuriated. "If I can't say it, then how am I supposed to apologize then?" she yelled out to him. The words had come out louder and harsher than she'd intended.

In response, Hiccup merely shrugged. "You're smart, Astrid. Figure out a way. Now I need to get back to my chiefly duties." Without a word, he exited the house leaving Astrid to ponder over all she had just heard.

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><p><strong>I know again what you're all going to say. You waited a week for this short chapter. Yeah…but it's longer than the handwritten draft I'd created. I added a whole new section. Chapter three might be a little longer…hopefully.<strong>

**Posted: September 16, 2014**


	3. Conversations

**This chapter is the last one that I have readily written up, but if this story continues to be so well received, I might return to handwriting it to get some new chapters posted. (Also, I apologize if these ANs don't make any sense today. I woke up feeling not so good—mainly just dizzy and overly tired, hopefully it's nothing major.)**

**Forgot to mention. This story features an alternate timeline. The second movie never happened.**

**Review Reply (only one this time):**

**_faisyah865_: Indeed! How will the great Astrid Hofferson Haddock get out of this? We shall see! ...but not yet, because that's no fun. Haha.**

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><p><span>Chapter 3: Conversations<span>

"…and then he just walks out of the house!" Astrid finished, exasperated. She had been animatedly telling her friends about her day. They were hanging out at the academy where Fishlegs was taking a break from teaching. When Hiccup had been appointed Chief, he had passed all teaching responsibilities to the Keeper of the Book of Dragons. Before she had been deemed to be "with child", Astrid had helped out at the academy every so often. Nowadays, she was lucky if Hiccup even let her out of the house. She had figured that Hiccup would be the overprotective type but this was more than she'd ever expected. "I mean, I know this is Hiccup we're talking about here, but…"

The others did not know what to say in reply to all of this, so they just quietly listened. Finally, Tuffnut broke the silence. "So…why are you asking us? You know Hiccup better than any of us…right?"

This response earned the male twin a nasty glare from the already-upset Astrid. As frustrated as she was, though, Astrid held back the urge to send a swift punch to Tuffnut's face. "It's just so frustrating," she replied instead, ending the conversation. "Although, something good did happen today," she continued, changing the subject and softening at this thought. "The baby started moving this morning."

This got the attention of Astrid's gathered friends. They all crowded around Astrid and took turns feeling the miracle of new life. Though this grated Astrid's nerves a bit, she endured it, knowing that most of her friends weren't even close to this stage in their lives yet.

After this, the former gang (minus Hiccup) began to disperse. Astrid hadn't expected answers but at least it had felt good to rant a bit.

888

"I just don't know what to do! She can be so stubborn sometimes! What have I gotten myself into, Dad?"

On the other side of Berk, Chief Hiccup sat in his privileged seat in the Great Hall. After leaving Astrid at their house, Hiccup had come straight here in in an attempt to clear his mind and (hopefully!) relieve the stress headache that was threating to tear open his skull. Shortly after taking a seat upon the special Chief's chair in the Great Hall, Hiccup's father had stopped by to ask how things were going.

"Yes, the next several months of your life are going to be rough, Son, but someday it'll all be worth it."

"How can you be so sure?" Hiccup asked, his frustration and stress clearly evident in his voice. "What if my child develops a personality like Astrid's? I don't think I could handle double of that every single day."

"How do I know? Simple! Because these very same questions ran through my mind when your mother was carrying you! And, look, you turned out okay! Odin, it was rough, but we all got through it in the end!"

"Gee, thanks for the encouragement, Dad."

Stoick failed to notice the sarcasm. "Anytime, Hiccup. Well, I'll let you get back to your work. I'm sure it's keeping you busy!"

When the door to the Great Hall had loudly slammed shut, Hiccup dropped his head to cradle it in his hands. "Oh man…"

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><p><strong>Like last time, this is way short, I know…come to think of it, it even looked short in my handwritten copy. Oh well, I made it a little longer when I edited it.<strong>

**As I said before, this is the last handwritten chapter I have complete, so I may start typing up something new or I might finish handwriting chapter four and post. Either way, the handwriting needs to finish before it'll end up on here. That is all.**

**Posted: September 19, 2014**


	4. Free

**Since I'm handwriting this story, it's going to be mainly on hiatus (as my time is limited right now). However, because this story is very popular, I have decided to write up a new chapter for you, my readers. I hope that you enjoy this new chapter!**

**Review Replies:**

_**the stargate time traveller**_**: In this story, I've played with the universe a bit. So, we have Stoick and no Valka. **

_**faisyah865**_**: Your review actually gave me an idea. Stay tuned!**

_**Nagareboshi Star**_**: The conflict will be more fleshed out as we go along, yeah! I just wanted the story to jump right into the action.**

_**Guest (anonymous)**_**: I probably will continue to develop Hiccup's character throughout this story. Can't say for certain…I'm kinda making this up as I go along…sort of.**

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><p><span>Chapter 4: Free<span>

Flying with Toothless had always been one of Hiccup's most favorite pastimes. Since becoming Chief, Hiccup found increasingly less time to just relax high above Berk on the back of his best friend. Even when he could spare some time, it was only enough for a quick lap around the island. Today, though, Hiccup made time. Postponing anything of importance, he left the Great Hall in search of his dragon.

When he found Toothless, Hiccup simply whispered to the Night Fury, "To the forge." In preparation to officially ground Astrid from flying until after she'd had their baby, Hiccup had moved all his flight gear to his small (and former) workroom at Gobber's forge. Someday, he would have to think of a better execution for this plan. Astrid knew that Hiccup had ended his work as a blacksmith when he'd become Cheief. Naturally curious, she would definitely be suspicious if she were to see Hiccup and Toothless sneaking around in there.

Though Hiccup knew he didn't have to keep his flights with Toothless a secret anymore, he did it for Astrid. He knew how jealous she would be if she were to see him flying after having grounded her. If the roles were reversed, he definitely would be. Hiccup did miss flying with Astrid, though. The four of them, two humans and two dragons, always had a fun time racing and then just taking it slow. Even after Astrid has the baby, it probably wouldn't be the two of them flying together. One of them would always have to stay and look after the baby…unless Hiccup's or Astrid's parents didn't mind watching their grandchild for a bit.

Finished attaching all of Toothless's gear, Hiccup shed his chief attire and opted for his riding vest. As he'd grown, he'd adapted the vest, making a larger one and equipping it with useful supplies. Ready to go, he hopped aboard his dragon and clicked his prosthetic foot into place. "You know what to do, Bud!" he told his friend with a pat to the Night Fury's scaly black neck.

Bracing himself, Hiccup was ready when Toothless shot up into the sky with unrivaled speed. Up in the air, the wind rushed through Hiccup's hair. With a sly glance behind him, Hiccup saw that no one was following him. Relaxing, he let the cold wind take away all the stress from the day. He finally felt free.

888

Astrid sat at home and waited for Hiccup to return from his day. _**Is this how it's going to be from now on?**_ she wondered. _**Hiccup's always so busy with everything. Is it just going to be me and the baby stuck at home all day every day?**_ Though Astrid knew that she would have the baby, she was not yet ready to just give up her shieldmaiden lifestyle.

As Astrid kept to her thoughts, the baby continued to move inside her, a constant reminder of its very real existence. Ever since the first light flutter of movement, the baby had become quite active. How weird it is! To feel another life present within her own body!

Until the baby, Astrid had only to look after herself. Well, that wasn't entirely true. Astrid had to look after Hiccup too. Why was he so disaster-prone?

Still, if any harm came upon herself, the baby would suffer too. Couple that with the baby being born the heir to Berk's chiefdom and Astrid was feeling the nervousness. Astrid Hofferson Haddock did _not_ get nervous. Ever. So why was it happening? Because of the baby again? She hated feeling like this!

The sound of the door opening and closing startled Astrid from her thoughts. Jumping up (as best she could), Astrid spoke before turning around. "Sure took you long enough, Hiccup! Where have you…?" She stopped speaking when she saw the person who had entered the house. That person was not Hiccup.

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><p><strong>I know…you waited months and all I can give you is this short chapter. I'm sorry! The chapters always look so much longer on paper. Hope it was enjoyable.<strong>

**Thank you all for reading and supporting More Than Words.**

**Posted: November 27, 2014**

**Happy Thanksgiving from the US East Coast!**


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